Amidst the outrage over the Oxford Union inviting Pakistani-origin ‘activist’ Muzzammil Ayyub Thakur and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Zafar Khan to its debate over Kashmir’s ‘independence’, the Indian students at Oxford University have written a letter condemning the varsity’s debating society for inviting those with links to terror outfits to its program titled “The House Believes in the Independent State of Jammu and Kashmir”.
“We, the Indian students in Oxford feel distressed and threatened by the Oxford Union’s invitation to Mr. Zafar Khan and Mr. Muzzamil Ayyub-persons with links to terrorist organisations to speak at the Union. The Oxford Union released its term card in the beginning of the term, where a debate was scheduled for 14 November 2024 with Ms. Naz Shah, MP, Mr. Khwaja Asif and Mr. Muzzamil Ayyub Thakur as speakers from the proposition side. On 11th November 2024, the Oxford Union released a post notifying Mr. Zafar Khan of ‘Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front’ and Mr. Muzzamil Ayyub Thakur as speakers for this debate,” the letter reads.
Detailing the criminal activities of JKLF, the Indian students in Oxford highlighted the 1984 Ravindra Mhatre kidnapping and murder case wherein the Indian diplomat was abducted and murdered in Birmingham by terrorists linked to JKLF. In addition, the letter pointed out the role of JKLF in the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in 1990.
“Mr. Zafar Khan is the Chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Diplomatic Bureau. Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), which is a designated terrorist organisation. In 1984 an Indian diplomat, Ravindra Mhatre, was kidnapped and murdered in Birmingham. He was abducted whilst on an errand. After a few days of being held in captivity his lifeless body was discovered sprawled on a Birmingham street. This terrorist crime that took place in a major UK city was executed by ‘militants’ linked to the latterly named Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front. In January 1990, the largest and latest flight of the minority Kashmiri Hindus from the Indian state of Jammu Kashmir was instigated by JKLF,” the letter states.
The letter further mentions the links of Muzzammil Ayyub with Islamic terror groups and that he has been booked for causing fear among the people and instigating them to carry out violence.
“Mr. Muzzammil Ayyub has often engaged in hate speech against Indians and Hindus. A case has been registered against him for creating fear and alarm among the masses using social media and inciting them to commit offences likely to disturb public order. Moreover, Muzammil is the president of the “World Kashmir Freedom Movement” which along with another organisation called “Mercy Universal”, was founded by his father and investigated by Scotland Yard, the Charity Commission and the FBI for ties with terrorists,” the Indian students in Oxford said.
🚨 Breaking News 🚨
— INSIGHT UK (@INSIGHTUK2) November 14, 2024
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐎𝐱𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐧 𝐎𝐱𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦
Indian students at Oxford University have voiced strong opposition to the Oxford… pic.twitter.com/cDkwUYDPac
Notably, in May 2022, the Jammu and Kashmir police booked Muzzammil under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for carrying out anti-national activities and threatening an Indian advocate named Syed Zeeshan. Muzzammil had also threatened a Kashmiri woman named Tasleema for exposing Pakistan’s propaganda at the United Nations. His X (formerly Twitter) account has been withheld in India. In addition, Muzammil had collaborated with the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) on several occasions to disseminate Pakistani narrative on the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir. A detailed OpIndia report on Muzammil Ayyub Thakur’s anti-India antecedents can be read here.
The Indian students further emphasised that Jammu and Kashmir is an undeniably integral part of India which has also been recognised by the UN and the international community since its legal accession to India in 1947. They added that any debate around Jammu and Kashmir’s status as an Indian territory is an “interference” in India’s sovereignty.
“Moreover, Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. The United Nations and the international community have also recognised Kashmir’s status that since its legal and constitutional accession to India in 1947, Jammu and Kashmir has been a part of the Indian state. Hence any debate that questions its status as an integral part of India is, by extension, an interference in India’s sovereignty. We as Indian students in Oxford are distressed and threatened that persons with terror links are invited to speak at Oxford Union, and that Oxford Union is interfering with the sovereignty of India,” the letter reads adding that while academic institutions should be neutral and offer platform to diverse perspectives, they should not be misused for the propagation of terrorist ideologies and challenging the sovereignty of any nation.
Indian students protest against Oxford Union over inviting anti-India elements to debate over Jammu and Kashmir’s ‘independence’
On Friday, several Indian students and INSIGHT UK, the social movement of British Hindus and Indians in the United Kingdom held a protest against Oxford Union for inviting terror-linked individuals to challenge India’s sovereignty openly. The protestors raised slogans like “Huge cries of “It is known far and wide, Oxford Union stands on terrorist side”, to call out the Union. In the protest, outside the Oxford Union, the students holding banners chanted Hindi slogans, “Bharat mata ki jai, Vande Mataram”
‼️BREAKING‼️
— INSIGHT UK (@INSIGHTUK2) November 14, 2024
Indian students protest infront
of the Oxford Union.
Cries of “It is known far and wide, Oxford Union stands on terrorists side”.#OxfordUnion pic.twitter.com/N1oeIvrHLn
Taking to X, INSIGHT UK shared visuals of the protest and wrote, “Jammu Kashmir WAS India, Jammu Kashmir IS India, Jammu Kashmir WILL BE India.”
‼️BREAKING‼️
— INSIGHT UK (@INSIGHTUK2) November 14, 2024
Jammu Kashmir WAS India
Jammu Kashmir IS India
Jammu Kashmir WILL BE India#OxfordUnion pic.twitter.com/91bolGraqj
Notably, before the Indian students at Oxford, INSIGHT UK sent a formal letter to the Oxford Union Society to express concerns about its decision to host the “This House Believes in the Independent State of Kashmir” debate raising questions about the inclusion of speakers with alleged links to terrorism and citing potential risks to the integrity of the debate.
In their letter, the social movement that works on issues that impact the British Hindu and Indian community in the UK stated that the two invited speakers, Muzzammil Ayyub Thakur and Zafar Khan, in support of the motion had been criticised for their alleged associations with groups linked to violent extremism and terrorism. They stated that Muzzammil Ayyub Thakur had been accused of incitement and hate speech, with links to organisations under investigation for connections to terrorism.
📢 Important Update from INSIGHT UK
— INSIGHT UK (@INSIGHTUK2) November 13, 2024
We have sent a formal letter to Oxford Union expressing deep concerns over their decision to host a debate titled, “This House Believes in the Independent State of Kashmir,” on 14th November. The invitation of speakers with alleged links to… pic.twitter.com/AzHFOUwFBr
INSIGHT UK further emphasised the background of Thakur and his organisation, “World Kashmir Freedom Movement,” where he is the president and also “Mercy Universal,” which he co-founded with his father. Both entities have reportedly been investigated by the UK’s Scotland Yard, the Charity Commission, and the FBI for their suspected connections to terrorist activities. “Muzzammil Ayyub has often engaged in hate speech. A case has been registered against him. for creating fear and alarm among the masses using social media and inclining them to commit offences likely to disturb public order. Muzammil has been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,” the letter stated.
Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul rejected the invitation to the Oxford Union debate
On 24th October 2024, Aditya Raj Kaul, a senior journalist and executive editor of TV9 Network withdrew his acceptance of taking part in the said debate program organised by Oxford Union as the Union invited those accused of financing terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. In a strongly worded response to Oxford Union’s invitation, Kaul said that, despite his worries about the debate, which he considered was political and heavily influenced by the organisers’ biases, he had opted to participate with an open mind and express himself as a Kashmiri. Kaul referred to Muzzammil Ayyub Thakur and Zafar Khan as “India baiters,” adding that “it would be a travesty of freedom and fairness to have a debate or even an interaction with people who work at the behest of the so-called establishment of the Pakistan deep state.”
Lot of people have asked me why I chose to withdraw my name from Oxford Union Debate on Kashmir where Pakistan’s Defence Minister & UK MP were also invited. @rjraunac also asked me this question. How can I debate with a terrorist?
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) November 11, 2024
Full Video of Podcast: https://t.co/8iPV7RNw1m pic.twitter.com/hAx9eLjW4h
Oxford University’s fixation with challenging India’s sovereignty
This is not the first time that Oxford Union has organised a program to debate why Kashmir should be an ‘independent’ country, in September last year, the Union had organised a debate advocating the formation of an independent state of Kashmir. Back then, the Oxford Union invited “The Kashmir Files” director Vivek Agnihotri to the debate, however, he declined the invitation to the debate calling its theme “anti-India” and “anti-Kashmir”.
By offering a platform to anti-India elements with links to terror outfits, the Oxford Union is not only attempting to undermine India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity but is also normalising the presence of Islamic terrorists in the mainstream.
Evidently, the Oxford Union is influenced by the growing lobbying muscle of Islamist groups in the UK, which are working tirelessly to shape public opinion on Kashmir in line with the Pakistani narrative even as the Kashmiri people are moving forward to the path of peace and development. This permits Islamist groups and individuals to influence conversations in elite intellectual circles, which is alarming given their capacity to rationalise terrorism. Instead of constantly bringing up the now non-existent Kashmir issue and allowing persons with terror ties to dominate the discourse, the Oxford Union should debate serious matters closer to home. The UK is grappling with the alarming surge of Jihadi grooming gangs raping and destroying the lives of British women. The union should debate the growing dominance of Islamists in the UK who are no less than a threat to the UK’s ‘secular fabric’ and its people, instead of challenging India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity under the garb of debates and discussions.
